Foldable safety structure



Jan. 19, 1960 A. A. RIZZUTO FOLDABLE SAFETY STRUCTURE Original Fild May 27, 1957 llll Ill Iii IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent FOLDABLE SAFETY STRUCTURE Angelo A. Rizzuto, New York, N.Y.

Original application May 27, 1957, Serial No. 661,644. Divided and this application February 19, 1959, Serial No. 794,466

3 Claims. (Cl. 182106) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety devices adaptable for use on stepladders, and this application constitutes a division of a copending application, Serial No. 661,644, filed May 27, 1957.

An object of the present invention is to provide a detachable and foldable safety support which can be easily fitted onto the upper portion of a stepladder and thereby permit utilization of the full height thereof without undue risk of injury to the user.

Another object is to provide a detachable and foldable safety support, adaptable for use on a stepladder, which is equipped with a plurality of foldable shelves for the convenient use of tools and materials.

A further object is to provide a detachable and foldable safety support equipped with a plurality of foldable shelves which is of simple construction and which is attachable to a stepladder with only a slight modification of the upper portion thereof.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing the safety support and the foldable shelves in the open and extended position assumed when in use on the upper portion of a stepladder, the structure being separated from the ladder for the purpose of clear illustration.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the safety support as it appears when detached and folded in a fiat, compact form.

The principal structural member of the safety support is a solid rectangular frame to which are hingedly attached upright members which are inverted U-shaped bars or arms 6 serving as handholds, and a plurality of shelves 1, the uppermost being hingedly attached and the auxiliary shelves pivotally attached to the frame 5. The shelves 1 are supported in a horizontally extended position by brackets 3 which are provided with longitudinal slots, each slot having a laterally-formed notch 18 at the extremity thereof. The brackets 3 are pivotally connected to the frame 5 at one end and at the other end engage lugs 12 attached at each end of each shelf 1, the lugs 2 being accommodated in the said notches. The shelves 1 are folded, as seen in Fig. 2, by a disengagement of the slotted brackets 3 from the lugs 2 thereby permitting the lugs to slide within the slots of the brackets simultaneously with the folding of the shelves, the brackets 3, like the shelves 1, swinging to a vertical position within the frame 5. It will be noted that the uppermost shelf 1 is attached to the upper horizontal portion of the frame 5 by hinges 4 which permit the shelf to sustain a greater load than the auxiliary shelves 1 which are attached by pivot pins 17, as seen in Fig. 2. Attention is also directed to the fact that similar foldable shelves could be attached to the arms 6 in the same manner that they are attached to the frame 5, without appreciably diminishing the usefulness of the arms 6 as safety-supporting members; however, for most practical purposes, it is believed that the shelves 1 provided are suflicient.

The arms 6 are provided with side plates 8 each having a thumbscrew 9 on the outside surface thereof and a fingerlike lug 10 on the inside surface. A crossbar 11, ex-

tending between the vertical portions of each arm 6 parallel with the upper edge of each side plate 8, constitutes a lateral extension of the plate 8.

The safety structure is rendered adaptable for attachment to a stepladder by providing the ladder with small plates which are attachable to the ladder side rails. The front side rails 13 are each provided with a plate 15 having a tapped bore therein, and the rear side rails 14 are each provided with a plate 16 having a simple bore-therein, the plates 15 and 16, as seen in Fig. 1, being fastened to the outside lateral surface of the side rails.

In practical use, the open safety structure, as seen in Fig. 1, is set on the stepladder so that the crossbars 11 rest on the top step 12 of the stepladder and thereby support the entire structure, and the lugs 10 fit into the simple bores in the plates 16, and the thumbscrews 9 fasten to the plates 15. This quite simple means of securing the safety structure to the ladder obviates the need for annoying cumbersome clamps or other undesirable devices.

The entire safety structure, as seen in Fig. 2, can be folded into a fiat, compact form which would require substantially less storage space than the ladder itself.

It is obvious that the foldable safety structure illustrated and described herein is capable of numerous modifications and it should be understood therefore that changes in the form and structural details of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A foldable safety structure adaptable for use on a stepladder having side rails and a top step thereon, comprising a rectangular barlike frame, a pair of vertically disposed inverted U-shaped arms hingedly attached to said frame and being foldable thereon, each of said arms having a rectangular side plate attached to the outside lateral surface at the base thereof, each of said side plates having attached at the upper edge thereof a crossbar, said crossbars constituting lateral extensions of said plates and being positioned between the vertical portions of said inverted U-shaped arms, said crossbars being engageable with the top step of said stepladder when said arms are disposed at right angles to the frame to support said safety structure and to maintain said structure in an upright position upon the stepladder, said side plates being each provided with a lug extending from the inside lateral surface thereof and a thumbscrew attached at the outside lateral surface thereof, said lugs and thumbscrews being diametrically positioned in a spaced apart relation on said plates, said stepladder side rails being each provided with a plate-like member having a perforation formed in the center thereof, said members being fastened to the outside lateral surfaces of said side rails proximate to the top step, said lugs and thumbscrews being releasably engageable in said perforations to secure said arms rigidly to the side rails, and a plurality of foldable shelves disposed in vertical alignment the uppermost thereof being hingedly attached to the upper horizontal portion of the frame and the remainder thereof being pivotally secured to the vertical portions of said frame, said shelves being each provided with a lug at each end thereof and being each supported in a horizontally extended position by a pair of brackets, said brackets having each a longitudinal slot with a laterally formed notch at the extremity thereof and being pivotally attached at one end thereof to the vertical portions of the frame and at the other end thereof releasably engaging said lugs in the notched portions of said' slots, said shelves being rendered foldable by a disengagement of the brackets from the lugs thereby permitting a slidable movement of said lugs within said slots and permitting a pivotal movement of the brackets to a vertical position simultaneously with the folding of said shelves. 2. A detachable and foldable safety structure adaptablefor'mounting on a stepladder having side rails and a-top step thereon, comprising an open rectangular frame, a pair of vertically positioned inverted U-shaped arms hingedly attached to said 'frame, side plates attached to said arms atthe' 'basethereof, said side plates'having orossbars fastened at the upper edges and constituting lateral extensions thereof, said arms being adapted to "extend at'n'ght angles to said frame therebypermitting forate'd platelike member fastened thereto proximate to the top step,'said' lugs and'thumbscrews being releasably engageable in the perforations of said platelikemembers to rigidly securesaid safety structure to the upper portion of the stepladder, and a plurality offoldable shelves disposed in vertical alignment'the uppermost thereof beinghingedly attached and the remainder-thereof-ibeing pivotally attached to said'frame respectively,said shelves beingeach provided with a lug at each'end thereof and being each supported in a horizontally extended position by a pair of brackets, said brackets being .pivotally attached to said-frame and having longitudinal notched slots' wherein said lugs are releasably engageable, said shelves being adapted to fold by a disengagement of the brackets from said lugs thereby permitting a sliding movement'of the lugs within said slots simultaneously with a pivotal movement of said'brackets and a folding of "saidshelves to a vertical position within said frame.

3. A detachable and foldable safety structure adaptablefor fitting onto a stepladderhaving side rails and a top step thereon, comprising a rectangular frame, a pair of-forklike bars hingedly attached to said frame, side plates attached to said bars at the base thereof, said side plates having transverse members fastened at the upper portions and constituting lateral extensions thereof, said side rails being provided with platelike members having perforations formed therein, said members being attached to the outside lateral surfaces of said side rails proximate to said top step, said bars being adapted to extend at right angles to said frame thereby permitting the frame to be mounted on the stepladder and permitting said transverse members to engage with said top step, fastening means attached to said side plates and being adapted to engage in said perforations of the platelike members to releasably secure the side plates rigidly to the side rails, and a plurality of foldable shelves disposed in vertical alignment the uppermost thereof being hingedly attached and the remainder thereof being pivotally attached to said frame respectively, said shelves being provided with lugs at the ends thereof and being supported in a "horizontally extended position by brackets, said brackets being pivotally attached to said frame and having longitudinal notched slots wherein said lugs are releasably engageable, said shelves being rendered foldable by a disengagement of the brackets from said lugs thereby permitting a sliding movement of the lugs Within said slots simultaneously with a pivotal movement of the brackets and a folding of said shelves to a vertical position within said frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 392,075 Smith Oct. 30, 1888 656,946 Corduan Aug. 28, 1900 701,532 Bardin June 3, 1902 1,440,645 Sullivan Jan. 2, 1923 1,633,112 Kulbeck June 21, 1927 

